DEPARTMENT OF Accounting and INFORMATION SYSTEMS
IS 312 INFORMATION SYSTEMS FOR BUSINESS MANAGERS
Spring 2019 (Ticket #: 13533 - MW 10 AM, 13529 - TR 2 PM)

COURSE DESCRIPTION

A survey of information systems concepts, including information technology, business information systems, and information system development and management. Preparation of group and individual projects involving hands-on learning of database management systems, decision support software, and webpage design and publishing. Practice in the use of a formal problem-solving process that includes five tasks. Presentation of results in written and/or oral form.
Prerequisites: ACCT 220 and IS 212, or CIT 101/L and CIT 160/L.

EXTENDED DESCRIPTION

This course will describe what Information Systems (IS) are and examine the different types of business IS, their roles in business operations and organizational collaboration and communication, and their use in decision making of various levels. The course will introduce basic concepts of business IS from both technical and managerial perspectives. Methodologies for, and current issues in, IS planning, analysis, design, and management will be discussed.

Specifically, this course will provide a survey of business IS concepts including: systems enabling business strategies and models; business processes, functional areas, and enterprise architecture; foundations of systems analysis, systems development and management with technology advancements such as cloud computing, data analytics, the Internet of Things, and block chain, as well as the ever-increasing threats and demands related to cybersecurity and information privacy.

OBJECTIVES and LEARNING OUTCOMES

Information systems (IS) provide strategic and productivity advantages to organizations in today's highly competitive and globalized business environment. As future business professionals, all of you will use computers daily as part of your job, and some of you will likely be involved in the development and management of information systems.

This course is designed to help undergraduate students achieve the following learning goals:

• To understand the strategic roles of IS.
• To understand the architecture of enterprise systems.
• To understand business processes and their implementation with IS.
• To understand the leading cloud-based enterprise platforms (such as Salesforce).
• To have a foundational knowledge of IS professionals (e.g., system analysis, database, networking, project management, etc.).
• To have foundational knowledge of important current issues related to IS management (governance, risk, security, etc).
• To be familiar with changing trends in information technology and understand their impact on business organizations.
• To develop individual critical thinking and problem solving skills using modern database and spreadsheet software.

***ADMINISTRATIVE NOTE:
The instructor's feedback is CRITICAL to the learning of the students; over the years I have found that the most effective feedback is those given "right at the spot", by the specific mistakes shown in the submitted homework. Therefore, it is important that the students follow the instructor's requirements on the font size (12-point font) of the prints for their homework/project:
*** Homerowrk submitted with small font size would NOT be accepted***

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TEXTBOOKS & COURSE MATERIALS 

* Textbook:

- Microsoft Access: Cengage Unlimited Access allows students to access Cengage's Access books. The instructor also provides 4 tutorials - saves time!
- Microsoft Excel: Cengage Unlimited Access allows students to access Cengage's Excle books. The instructor also provides 5 tutorials - saves time!
(The instructor's tutorials are already available on the class syllabus)

* A CSUN email account ===> ===> ===>

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POLICIES 

0. Course Requirements 
0.1 General requirements
(1) Attend all classes on time. 
(2) Submit all assignments/projects on time. 
(3) Take all the exams on their scheduled date and time. 
(4) Contribute one's fair share in team projects. 
(5) Read assigned work in textbook, slides/handouts, and/or other materials prior to attending each class. 
(6) Turn off your cell phones during class time. You will receive a warning for the first offense, and a 5-credit-point reduction for each subsequent offense.

0.2 Specific requirements
(1) Always bring your textbook with you to class. We will be referring to it on a regular basis, so you need to keep it handy.
(2) Before each class session, go to the instructor's Web site and download the materials for that session. Bring the printouts with you to class. No printing will be allowed during lectures .
(3) ALL homework/project are due at the beginning of class on the due date. All homework is due 7 days from the assignment date. Projects have their specific (announced) due dates.
(4) Email subject line: When communicating with the instructor, please use the subject line "IS 312 [class time], [your last name], Re [subject of the email] (Example: "IS 312 10 AM, Smith, HW2, Problem 3 Clarification ")

1. Attendance 
1.1 Students MUST try their best to attend every class on time. Attendance will be randomly taken at the beginning of some classes. Bonus/penalty may be given based on the attendance record.
1.2 It is the responsibility of the student (should s/he miss a class) to contact the instructor or classmate(s) to obtain the assignments, handouts, announcements, and other things that may have been given in the missed class. 

***2. Exam 
2.1 Two midterm exams (100 points each) and one final exam (140 points): given on the dates/times indicated in this syllabus. 
    The final exam (140 points) will have comprehensive components.
ALL exams are close-book, close-note.
2.2 Exam study guide: will be posted (usually seven days) before each of the three exams; a study guide indicates the scope of the exam.
2.3 NO MAKE-UP EXAM. A student who must miss one (only ONE) midterm exam will have his/her final exam percentage applied to the missed midterm exam (see "2.4" below for details). If a student misses two midterm exams, the score for the second missed midterm = 0.
2.4 Using final exam percentage for one missed midterm is NOT automatic: a student who must miss the midterm exam must contact the instructor more than 24 hours in advance in order to have his/her final exam percentage applied to the missed midterm exam. Failure to do so will result in a zero score for the missed exam. 

***3. Homework and Projects

3.1 Project
3.1.1 One team project: database, 55 points (45 points on database and written report, 10 points on presentation).
3.1.2 One individual project: spreadsheet, 30 points.
3.1.3 For team project, form teams of five (5) persons. Different problems will be assigned to different teams.
3.1.4 For individual project, different problems may be assigned to different students.
3.2 Homework Assignments: Fourteen (14) individual homework assignments ("homework" hereafter):
- 15 points each: two database (on paper), one Access (on paper), two Excel (online) - subtotal of this group is 75 points (5 X 15);
- 10 points each for nine Salesforce exercises, except for the first Salesforce lab which is 5 points (subtotal 85 points: 1 X 5 + 10 X 8).
3.3 Duration and due dates of homework and projects:
3.3.1 All homeworks are due in 7 days unless announced otherwise (2-3 Salesforce labs may be assigned in a week, and each assigned group are expected to be completed in 7 days).
3.3.2 Projects have longer durations, and due dates will be announced respectively.
***3.4 All individual homework must be completed INDEPENDENTLY . This requirement is to avoid disputes over academic dishonesty. BOTH parties involved in copying (the "taker" and the "giver") will be eqaully punished.
[Given such exagerated big font, there is NO REASON for any one to miss this precaution].
[MULTIPLE incidents - in each class - happened in Fall 2017 and Fall 2018; students involved were caught and punished].

***4. Late Submission is NOT accepted, with NO exception
4.0 All homeworks/project are due by the beginning of the class on due date.
4.1 There will be ABSOLUTELY no late submission for any homework/project. [This policy will be STRICTLY enforced: for the benefits of students - will explain in class]
4.2 Staying away from a class to finish a due assignment is prohibited. Any assignment submitted 15/30 minutes (for Afternoon/Evening classes, respectively) after the beginning of the class is considered late. No excuse will be accepted and no exception will be made regarding late submission. [The above "grace period" is given for traffic/parkikng difficulties STRICTLY. I never meant for you to use those 15/30 minutes to complete (including printing) your assignments]

6. Academic Integrity
** This issue is brought up on Day 1 of the semester; Please review this section when the first homework is assigned. Any cheating behavior happens is against two wartnings given - one on Day 1 and one on the day of the first assignment. So any offense is NOT tolerated or excused since the class has been warned TWICE.

***COBAE Student Core Values Statement and Ethical Conduct Pledge***
Academic integrity is of critical importance to all business students, especially Accounting and Information Systems students..
Academic dishonesty of any form will NOT be tolerated. Acts of academic dishonesty include: 

A. Cheating:
1) Represent the work of others as their own (such as copy other students' work, including using a formula or code created by another student);
2) Submit the same academic work (or a substantial portion of it) for credit in more than one course without authorization.
3) Use references in a close-book, close-note exam, or use unauthorized materials or aids in a take-home or open-book exam;The use of any electronic device [including electronic dictionary] during an exam is strictly prohibited.
B. Fabrication: Attempt to alter and resubmit returned academic work with intend to defraud the faculty member.
C. Facilitating academic dishonesty: intentionally or knowingly help or attempt to help another to commit an act of academic dishonesty
** - providing answers/formulas/solutions to another student for an independent homework/assignment falls in this category.
C.1. To help one's friends, one can eaplain the textbook's contents, or the class demo questions to his/her friends.
** But one is advised NOT to show his/her friends how to solve a homework/project problem.
D. Plagiarism: copy materials from a textbook or from materials taken directly from a website without proper citation.

The Accounting and Information Systems Department has an official "Academic Honesty Message" for all students taking courses offred by the Department: "In striving for excellence in your academic work, consider honesty to be a part of your grade.  In creating a network among your peers, think about how your actions may be judged by future employers who could easily learn of the manner in which you handled both the opportunities and pressures to cheat in your schoolwork"; "Our renewed vigilance in preventing cheating includes a commitment to rigorously enforce penalties for such actions, including but not limited to barring access to the EY Center for Careers in Accounting and Information Systems and recruiting activities such as firm tours and campus interviews, as well as assigning grade penalties.  Faculty members have been instructed to report all suspected cheating activities to me as Department Chair". For the complete Message, please click the link.

An act of academic dishonesty will automatically lead to zero credit for the exam or project/assignment where the act happens , and may lead to a grade of "F" for the course for the student(s) involved . The instructor may take additional action in accordance with the CSUN policies. See CSUN Catalog (http://catalog.csun.edu/policies_/academic-dishonesty/ ) for further information on the policies and procedures concerning plagiarism and cheating. 

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METHOD OF EVALUATION

(1) Total possible points: 

(2) Grade scales: 

NO curve on individual exams. At the end of the semester, *IF* the class GPA is lower than 2.2, a curve may be applied.

 ADDITIONAL INFORMATION 

 COMPUTER FACILITIES 

Computers are available for use in the College of Business' Microcomputer Lab (BB2129 / BB2125). 
COBAE Computer Lab Web Site 

The computer labs in the Oviatt Library and Sierra Hall are available for you to use. These labs are open longer hours and on the weekends. Follow this link to find the days and hours: Other Campus Computer Labs. 

*** Free tuoring provided by the Business Honors Association (BHA).

ADA STATEMENT 

Qualified students with physical or documented learning disabilities have the right to free accommodation to ensure equal access to educational opportunities. The student, if seeking special accommodations, must notify the Disability Resources and Educational Services (DRES) (110 Bayramian Hall) and the instructor by the end of the second week of the semester.

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TENTATIVE SCHEDULE
Please pay attention to the announcements in class, on class web, and on class Canvas site.

See Canvas class site for details of modules/units.

*** IMPORTANT: The instrucor intentionally left materials from last semester for reference; HOWEVER, all official materials for this semester will bear the year "2019"; in other words: those without the year "2019" are UNofficical.

Tentative Spring 2019 schedule: (Chap 1 PPT posted for "Week 1" in the table below for those who are not enrolled)

*** The following schedule is from Spring 2018; the reason for leaving it here is for the students to access the instructor's tutorials.

*** Please do NOT confuse

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The Instructor's Motto

Self portrait:
A nice person of PRINCIPLE:
- Respects the students while be honest with them on their weaknesses – to help them grow
- Always says “Yes” when he can, but never hesitates to say “No” when he must

Favorite Quotations:  

* By Nature all men are alike, but by education become different -- Anonymous
* 学如逆水行舟，不进则退。Learning is like rowing upstream, not to advance is to drop behind -- Chinese Proverb
* 知之者不如好之者，好之者不如乐之者。He who has a knowledge in a matter is not as good as he who is interested in it; he who is interested in it is not as good as he who enjoys doing it -- Confucius (Chinese philosopher and educator, 551 B.C. - 479 B.C.)
* The successful person has the habit of doing the things failures don't like to do. They don't like doing them either necessarily. But their disliking is subordinated to the strength of their purpose. -- Stephen R. Covey: The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People
* We must do what America does best, offer more opportunity to all and demand more responsibility from all . - Inaugural Address of United States President William J. Clinton, January 20, 1993
* (Last, but not the least) Eureka! - California State Motto

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Last update:04/23/2018